Circular table and seat construction

ABSTRACT

A circular table construction made from a rectangular sheet of material by cutting a minimum number of table parts and with the material waste reduced to a minimum, said table construction having a circular table top and a continuous annular seat member therearound and secured in assembly by a plurality of support means diametrically arranged; the table construction affording virtually unobstructed leg space beneath the table top and being readily relocatable as by rolling on the outer circumferential edge of the annular seat member.

United States Patent [191 Lake [ Sept. 11, 1973 CIRCULAR TABLE AND SEAT CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Gary F. Lake, 487 Short St., Bishop,

Calif. 93514 22 Filed: occ.21,1971

[21] Appl. No.: 191,532

[52] US. Cl. 297/157, 108/153 [51] Int. Cl A47b 3/06 [58] Field of Search 297/157, 423, 135, 297/136,139,170,171,174;108/153,115

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 171,751 3/1954 Curtis 297/157 X 2,367,011 l/l945 Demmien... 297/157 7/1955 White 297/423 X Rumble 297/157 Schupbach 297/157 Primary Examiner-James T McCall AttorneyE. F. Jaros et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A circular table construction made from a rectangular sheet of material by cutting a minimum number of table parts and with the material waste reduced to a minimum, said table construction having a circular table top and a continuous annular seat member therearound and secured in assembly by a plurality of support means diametrically arranged; the table construction affording virtually unobstructed leg space beneath the table top and being readily relocatable as by rolling on the outer circumferential edge of the annular seat member.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF INVENTION It has been recognized that circular tables are useful and desirable for facilitating social and educational exchanges between persons of a group at the table by which each person may readily view another person. Such group arrangement is particularly useful in schools, especially in elementary grades as well as other grades. Such circular group arrangements are desirable at social gatherings such as on a patio or garden. Such purposes require that a circular table be comfortable, have virtually unobstructed leg space, and be readily relocatable if necessary by one person. Such a circular table should be aesthetically appealing in design and should be capable of manufacture with minimum waste of material and require minimum number of table parts.

Prior proposed circular tables have included center pedestal type tables in which the pedestal obstructed freedom of leg movement. Another prior circular table was first fabricated in quarter sections, the quarter sections being assembled around a centerpost which supported a circular awning (U.S. Pat..No. 2,713,889). Another combined circular table and bench included arcuate benches provided with a center partition forming a support for the table top (US. Pat. No. 2,367,01 l Another prior proposed table construction fabricated from a single piece of rectangular stock required cutting a large number of pieces from the single piece of stock and assembly thereof in which side benches and end table supports provided a structure which made seating at the end of the bench very awkward and uncomfortable. (US. Pat. No. 3,300,245)

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention contemplates a circular table construction and method of cutting or fabricating the same from a single rectangular sheet of material which results in an aesthetically pleasing, comfortable, and economic table structure in which waste material is substantially reduced to a minimum.

An object of the present invention is to disclose a circular table construction and method of fabricating or cutting same from a single sheet of material in a most efficient and economic manner.

An object of the invention is to disclose a circular table construction having a continuous annular seat member which provides a circular circumferential edge for readily rolling the table construction to a selected location.

Another object of the invention is to disclose a circular table construction wherein a circular table top and a concentrically arranged continuous annular seat member are arranged to facilitate convenient seating at the table. 7

Another object of the present invention is to disclose a circular table construction in which table support means are arranged with respect to a circular table top and surrounding circular bench so as to provide virtually unobstructed leg space beneath the'table top.

A still further object of the present invention is to disclose and provide a circular table construction which may be readily shipped or stored in precut layout arrangement in the form of a single flat sheet of material.

Still another object of the invention is to disclose a method of cutting a single sheet of rectangular material dimension of 4 feet may be desirable. When the table such as plywood whereby a circular table top, annular seat member, and a plurality of table support means are readily and quickly cut with a minimum of waste material and table parts. The invention also illustrates an exemplary use of such waste material to provide a companion piece of lawn furniture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparent from the following description of the drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is atop plan view of a rectangular sheet of material marked for cutting to fabricate a circular table construction embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane indicated by line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a circular table embodying this invention and made from a sheet of material shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded view of a portion of the table shown in FIG. 3 to illustrate assembly of the table parts.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a rectangular sheet of material showing lines for cutting a. circular table construction embodying a modification of the invention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a circular table construction assembled from the parts cut from the rectangular sheet shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exploded fragmentary perspective view of parts of the table shown in FIG. 6 to illustrate assembly.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a use of portions of the rectangular sheet shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 5 which are not used in the fabrication of the circular table construction.

In the embodiment of this invention shown in FIGS. l-4, inclusive,a circular table construction 10 may be fabricated from a single rectangular sheet of material 11 (FIG. 1). Generally speaking the table construction 10 includes a circular table top 12, a continuous concentrically arranged annular seat member 14 spaced below top 12, and a plurality of support means 15 which space and support table top 12 from seat member 14 and seat member 14 from a supporting surface such as a floor or the ground.

In fabrication of the table construction 10, the rectangular sheet of material 11 may be of any suitable rigid material such as plywood of selected thickness. A suitable size for sheet 11 would be an external or weatherproofed sheet of plywood having a thickness of inch and a square having a dimension of from about 4 feet to 6 feet depending upon the selected use for the table. Thus, when the table is used for small children in a school environment such as kindergarten, the smaller construction is utilized as a patio table for adults, a larger dimension is desirable.

In the method of cutting the rectangular or square sheet of material 11, in order to effectively utilize such material, a circular cut may first be made along the line 20, the diameter of line 20 being approximately the same as one of the dimensions of the square. In FIG. 1 it will be noticed that the diameter of the circular line 20 is illustrated as slightly less because in actual fabrication it is difficult to cut line 20 at the tangent formed by the side edge of the square sheet. In practice this space may amount to a sixteenth or an eighth of an inch.

After cutting along the circular line 20, a second cut may be made along the circular line 21 which is coaxial with circular line and which is spaced radially inwardly from line 20 a distance sufficient to provide satisfactory or acceptable seat or bench width such as from 6 to 12 inches in width. Thus cutting along lines 20 or 21 provides a continuous annular seat member 14 having an outer circumferential edge 22 and an inner circumferential edge 23.

Table top 12 may then be cut along circular line 25 which is concentric and coaxial with the circular lines 20 and 21 and which may have a diameter slightly less then the inner diameter of the seat member 14 as defined by the inner circumferential edge 23 or line 21. Upon cutting along line 25, a relatively narrow annular member 26 is formed, the width of member 26 being suitably selected so as to facilitate the act of seating at table 10. When the outer circumferential edge 27 of circular table top member 12 is spaced slightly radially inwardly from the inner circumferential edge 23 of seat member 14, and the vertical spacing between table top member 12 and seat member 14 is normal or in the order of 7 to 14 inches, it will be apparent that if the circumferential edge 27 was directly above edge 23 it may be awkward for people of certain build to readily seat themselves at the table construction. Providing slight lateral annular space between edge 27 and edge 23 enhances the ease by which a person may readily seat himself at the table construction. Depending upon the use for the table, it will be readily apparent that the width of annular member 26 may be varied.

Support means 15 are provided by each corner portion 30 of the sheet of material 1 1. In this example each corner portion 30 may be cut along diagonal line 31 to form support means 15 and a right angle corner section 32. Preferably the diagonal cut along line 31 is located so that the vertex 33 of the angle formed by a side edge 34 of corner portion 30 and line 31 is located so that the distance along a line parallel to the other side 35 of corner portion 30 from the line 20, as indicated at point 36, to vertex 33 has a length approximately equivalent to the width of seat member 14. Thus, when each support means 15 is assembled with seat member 14 and table top 20, it will be readily apparent that top portion 38 includes a top edge 39 (corner side edge 35) which serves as a bearing or support surface for the bottom surface of table 12. Each support means 15 also includes a side portion 40 having a side edge 41 (corresponds to side edge 34 of corner portion 30). Side portion 40 extends below seat member 14 and acts as a leg with contact with the floor or supporting surface. Top portion 38 also includes diagonal edge 42 which corresponds to the diagonal cut at 31 and which extends from the outer circumferential edge 22 of seat member 14 to the outer circumferential edge 27 of the table top 12. Support means 15 also includes an arcuate or curved inner edge 43 which is formed by the cut along the circular line 20.

Means for securing said support means 15 to table top 12 and to seat member 14 may include in the latter instance a plurality of slots 45 provided in 90 spaced relationship in the seat member 14 and having an open end at the inner circumference 23 of the seat member. Slot 45 may extend approximately one-half the width of seat member 14. Each support means 15 includes a slot 46 extending approximately one-half the width of side portion 14 and at a location as previously described with respect to FIG. 1. When seat member 14 and each support means 15 are assembled, the respective slots 45 and 46 embrace and receive the remaining portion of the support means 15 and seat member 14 as shown in FIG. 3. Beneath seat member 14 and on opposite sides of support means 15 may be also provided angle brackets 47 secured as by screws or bolts in wellknown manner to both seat member 14 and support means 15.

Similarly, top portion 38 of support means 15 which provides a top edge 39 upon which table top 12 may rest may be secured in assembly by angle brackets 49 attached to the support means 15 and the table top 12 by screws or bolts in well-known manner. It will be understood, of course, that various other types of securement means may be employed to securely hold the table top 12, seat member 14 and support means 15 in assembly.

As best noted in FIG. 3, the assembled table construction 10 provides virtually unobstructed leg space beneath table top 12, such leg space being defined by the inner curved edges 43 of support means 15 which generally form a segment of a spheroid. Thus, a person sitting on seat member 14 between support means 15 has virtually complete freedom of leg movement beneath table top 12.

Again referring to FIG. 3, it will be noted that the side edges 41 of side portions 40 generally lie on or within a cylindrical surface generated by passing a line parallel to the axis of the table along line 20 which defines the circumferential edge of seat member 14. Thus, when it is desired to move table construction 10 from one location to another without completely lifting or raising the table from the supporting surface or ground, the table construction 10 may be tilted so that the seat member 14 lies in a vertical plane and simply rolled to the new location on the circumferential edge 22. Thus, one person may readily relocate the table.

Referring again to FIG. 1, it should be noted that when the single sheet 11 of material has been cut into the pieces as described above, shipment of said table in precut condition may be readily made by reassembling the cut pieces in the pattern as shown in FIG. 1 upon a thin sheet of plywood or other shipping material and then placing a similar sheet of shipping material over the precut assembly and securing the same by suitable steel or plastic strapping. The entire table construction 10 may thus be shipped as a flat article of the same rectangular size and of only slightly increased depth. Obviously such flat articles are readily stacked and handled for shipping on pallets or the like in the same manner as if the packaged table construction was a large sheet of plywood.

In the example of the invention described above, edge 42 of the upper portion 38 of the table support means 15 is illustrated as a straight line and extends virtually from the circumferential edge 22 of seat member 14 to the circumferential edge 27 of table top 12. Thus, in this example a support means 15 provides an aesthetically pleasing yet simple construction. It will be understood from a consideration of FIG. 3 and the cut 31 of FIG. 1 which defines the edge 42 that edge 42 may be suitably configured as desired in order to produce a different aesthetic appearance.

It will also be noted by those skilled in the art that waste material from the rectangular sheet 11 has been reduced to a minimum and by reference to FIG. 1 such waste material may be considered the extreme right angle corner sections 32, the intermediate annular ring 26, and the material necessarily removed from areas at 57 to facilitate cutting along line 20 and to provide bearing surfaces 48 of adequate area for supporting the table construction and when used as lawn furniture for reducing penetration or sinking into a soil surface. If desired, suitable pads may be placed beneath the bearing areas at 48.

Although the corner sections 32 and annulus 26 have been mentioned above as waste material, FIG. 8 illustrates one use of such material to provide a circular sun deck generally indicated at 50 in which the annulus 26 is supported from triangular corner sections 32 having their base secured to the bottom surface of annulus 26 and arranged in spaced 90 relationship. Across said annulus 26 is stretched and secured a suitable fabric 51 such as canvas. It will be generally understood that many other uses may be made of the annulus 26 and corner sections 32.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5-7 inclusive, a table construction generally indicated at 10 may be made from a single rectangular sheet of material 11' by cutting along similar lines as indicated in FIG. 1 and as identified in FIG. 5 by similar reference numerals with a prime sign.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5-7 inclusive, differs from that shown in FIGS. 1-4 inclusive in that the table support means is cut in two pieces 38 and 40' along line 53. Thus, the side portions 40' as separated from the top portions 38' may be located in 90 spaced relationship and secured by suitable means such as the brackets 47' to seat member 14'. Table top 12' may be supported from seat member 14' by the top portions 38 spaced in 90 relation to each other and located in 45 spaced relation to the adjacent side portions 34. Thus a slightly different style and appearance of table construction 10 and 10' is achieved while still employing the cutting plan of FIG. 1.

In this example of the invention, it may be noted that the circular cut is spaced inwardly from the edges of the rectangular sheet of material 11' so that waste material previously indicated at 57 is avoided.

The advantages described above with respect to table construction 10 are similarly inherent in the table construction 10' shown in FIGS. 5-7 inclusive.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the invention described above and which come within the spirit of this invention and all such changes and modifications coming within the scope of dependent claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A circular table and continuous seat construction fabricated from a single sheet of rectangular material having virtually unobstructed leg space beneath its table top and adapted to be readily relocatable without lifting and carrying, the combination of:

a circular table top member;

an annular continuous table seat member having an inner diameter at least not less than the diameter of said table top member; and

a plurality of support means for spacing said top member from said seat member and said seat member from a supporting surface;

each support means including an inner arcuate edge having a radius approximately the radius of the outer circumferential edge of said annular seat member, each support means including a top support portion having a top straight edge provided by a portion of one side edge of said rectangular sheet and lying in a horizontal plane in supporting contact with table top member,

and a side bottom portion extending between said seat member and said supporting surface and having a side edge lying within a cylinder generated by a line parallel to the axis of the table top member and passing along the outer circumferential edge of said seat member;

said side edge being provided by a portion of an adjacent side edge of said rectangular sheet;

and means securing said support means to said table top member and said seat member; whereby said outer circumferential edge of said seat member provides a circular edge for rolling said table along said supporting surface and whereby said inner arcuate edges of said support means define a spheroi dal segment within which lies unobstructed leg space.

2. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein the top portion and side porion of each supporting means lies in the same radial plane.

3. A table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said top portion and side portion of each supporting means lie in spaced radial planes.

4. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said seat member has an inner circumferential edge spaced radially outwardly from the outer circumferential edge of said table top member.

5. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said securing means for said support means includes interlocking slot means on said support means and said seat member.

6. In a circular table construction. adapted to be fabricated from a single rectangular sheet of material, the combination of:

an annular seat member having an outer diameter virtually equivalent to one dimension of the rectangular sheet of material;

a circular table top member having a diameter less than the inner diameter of the annular seat member;

and a plurality of support means provided by diagonally opposite corner portions of said rectangular sheet lying outwardly of said annular seat member and having contiguous right angle edges provided by right angle edges of said sheet;

part of one of the edges of each corner portion of the rectangular sheet material having supporting contact with said table top member and part of the other edge of each corner portion extending from the annular seatmember to a supporting surface,

each corner portion providing an arcuate interior edge'extending from said seat member to said top member and to said supporting surface,

said arcuate edge having a radius corresponding to the outer radius of the annular seat member.

i i I i 

1. A circular table and continuous seat construction fabricated from a single sheet of rectangular material having virtually unobstructed leg space beneath its table top and adapted to be readily relocatable without lifting and carrying, the combination of: a circular table top member; an annular continuous table seat member having an inner diameter at least not less than the diameter of said table top member; and a plurality of support means for spacing said top member from said seat member and said seat member from a supporting surface; each support means including an inner arcuate edge having a radius approximately the radius of the outer circumferential edge of said annular seat member, each support means including a top support portion having a top straight edge provided by a portion of one side edge of said rectangular sheet and lying in a horizontal plane in supporting contact with table top member, and a side bottom portion extending between said seat member and said supporting surface and having a side edge lying within a cylinder generated by a line parallel to the axis of the table top member and passing along the outer circumferential edge of said seat member; said side edge being provided by a portion of an adjacent side edge of said rectangular sheet; and means securing said support means to said table top member and said seat member; whereby said outer circumferential edge of said seat member provides a circular edge for rolling said table along said supporting surface and whereby said inner arcuate edges of said support means define a spheroidal segment within which lies unobstructed leg space.
 2. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein the top portion and side porion of each supporting means lies in the same radial plane.
 3. A table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said top portion and side portion of each supporting means lie in spaced radial planes.
 4. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said seat member has an inner circumferential edge spaced radially outwardly from the outer circumferential edge of said table top member.
 5. In a table construction as stated in claim 1 wherein said securing means for said support means includes interlocking slot means on said support means and said seat member.
 6. In a circular table construction adapted to be fabricated from a single rectangular sheet of material, the combination of: an annular seat member having an outer diameter virtually equivalent to one dimension of the rectangular sheet of material; a circular table top member having a diameter less than the inner diameter of the annular seat member; and a plurality of support means provided by diagonally opposite corner portions of said rectangular sheet lying outwardly of said annular seat member and having contiguous right angle edges provided by right angle edges of said sheet; part of one of the edges of each corner portion of the rectangular sheet material having supporting contact with said table top member and part of the other edge of each corner portion extending from the annular seat member to a supporting surface, each corner portion providing an arcuate interior edge extending from said seat member to said top member and to said supporting surface, said arcuate edge having a radius corresponding to the outer radius of the annular seat member. 